Quake 8
by Feynelle
Summary: No one expected the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that happened that day. Especially not Mayuzumi Chihiro, a middle schooler and his little brother Mayuzumi Tetsuya who were at the mall to buy presents. After the devastating incident, they run into a man named Akashi Seijuro. Being so far from home, how will these two siblings get back home safely?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Have a huge writers block XD so tried to write something else to get more motivation! Crossover with Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. It won't be an on-going story, maybe just two or three chapters (hopefully) XD

**Warning: Gore and violence**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Tokyo Magnitude 8.0**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_**Middle School**_

"Alright class, I'm going to hand back your report cards." A woman with bright pink hair announced to her rowdy students who were eager to get going and start their summer break. "I'll call you up one by one, so pay attention!"

The class quieted down in order to hear their teacher. She started to alphabetically call all the names and everyone went up to grab the folders she was handing out. Until it came to one boys name.

"Mayuzumi Chihiro." There was silence. "Mayuzumi..." Still no response. She looked up and scanned everyone's faces, looking for the twelve-year-old boy with gray hair.

"Mou...is he skipping again..?" She sighed and was about to call the next name when a bored sounding voice answered next to her.

"I'm right here...sensei." Turning around, everyone jumped. Even after two years, they still couldn't get over how invisible the boy was!

"S-Sorry, Chi-Mayuzumi-kun!" She felt ashamed for not noticing one of her favorite students. Once she gave him his report card, he slowly walked back to his seat and sat down before picking up his manga again and reading, ignoring the other names his teacher was calling.

_'Taking so long...' _He thought. He just wanted to go home and start his vacation so he could read more of his books...

His peace was interrupted when two loud people in his class decided to have a conversation together.

"What are you going to do for vacation, Mibuchi?" A boy named Hayama Kotaro asked his black haired friend.

"My family and I are going to a hot spring." Mibuchi answered.

"Ehh? Lucky...we're just going camping tomorrow..." Hayama frowned.

"You shouldn't be so upset. It sounds nice that your family woul-" Mibuchi's scolding got cut off when his name was called.

"What's so good about camping..." He looked up and saw Mayuzumi was looking at him. And before the gray-haired boy could avert his gaze back to his book, the annoying orange-haired boy grinned and spoke to him. "What are you doing for vacation, Mayuzumi?"

He decided to answer, knowing that if he didn't the annoying teen, he would keep asking.

"Nothing special..." He looked back down to his book. Hayama pouted, and was about to tell him to elaborate more, but Mubuchi came back by then and continued his lecturing.

"That's the last one. Remember to finish your summer assignment before break is over! No excuses, alright?!" She narrowed her eyes at her students to see that they understood, and smiled when nods and affirmative answers were sent her way. "Enjoy your break!"

Everyone cheered and hurriedly packed their stuff, meeting their friends on the way out. Mayuzumi lagged behind, face still stuck in the manga. He didn't want to deal with the herd of students rushing out of the door. When it was just a few people left he was about to leave when his teacher spoke up.

"Have a safe trip, Chihiro-kun. And tell Tetsu-kun that I said hello!" Mayuzumi only spared her a glance before leaving. Miss. Momoi was always doing these things...She was a close friend of the family and adored his little brother. Oh yeah...his brother...

_'Ah...almost forgot I had to pick him up today...'_ In the morning their mother told them she had to leave for work near the time he got out of school, so she asked Chihiro to make sure his brother got home. Sighing, he went to his locker and grabbed his outdoor shoes, changing them and locking the indoor ones in the locker, he started to head to his brothers elementary school.

It was relatively close to his middle school, so it only took about ten minutes to walk there, but with how hot it was, it felt like a century before he arrived...

A while later, he saw the familiar school gates of his brothers elementary school and stared through them, hoping he wouldn't have to waste time to search the whole school for his blue-haired brother. Luckily he didn't have to when he saw the orange-haired boy kneeling beside a cardboard box that was against the wall of the school building and after looking a little harder, he saw his brother next to him, also kneeling. He opened the school gate and walked to them.

"Afternoon Chihiro-nii." The blue-haired eight-year old greeted his big brother when he heard him coming. One of the reasons he acknowledged his brother was because he was one of the few who could notice him right away. Though, it could be because his brother had even less of a presence than he did.

"Are you ready to go?" Chihiro asked, eyes going back to the book in his hand.

"Hey! It's the otaku!" A loud voice shouted when he heard his friends brother.

_'The annoying friend...'_ Just because he liked to read manga didn't mean he was an otaku...Chihiro didn't know how Tetsuya could stand such an obnoxious person.

"Ogiwara-kun, please don't make fun of Chihiro-nii." His brother's small monotone voice scolded.

"Ehh, but he is one!" The gray-haired boy's tolerance was wearing thin...There was only so much he could ignore. So he decided to make this visit as short as possible...

"Let's go, Tetsuya." It was hot outside and he just wanted to go home... The bluenette nodded, dusting off his dirtied shorts as he stood.

"B-But, Tetsu! You promised to play basketball with me after we checked on Nigou!" Nigou was the black and white husky that was currently sleeping inside of the cardboard box. His brother had found him one day and brought him home but their mother said they couldn't have pets. So Tetsuya kept him at the school and he and Ogiwara would feed and play with him after school.

"Ah..." Blue eyes met gray, and he knew that he couldn't keep his promise, Chihiro looked impatient. "I'm sorry, maybe tomorrow, Ogiwara-kun?"

The orange head glared at the older boy, knowing it was his fault. But when he looked back to his friends apologetic face, he smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Fine...but you owe me Tetsu!" Tetsuya nodded, promising to make it up to his friend.

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Ogiwara-kun." With that, the siblings headed to the bus stop to go home.

"Bye!" The boy shouted and waved to their retreating forms before leaving, deciding to head home as well.

* * *

_**Apartment**_

Chihiro and Tetsuya finally made it home after a few minutes walk. Taking off their shoes at the entrance, they then headed into the living room together.

"We're home..." Chihiro announced robotically, only doing it because otherwise no one would know they were home.

"Ah, welcome back, Chi-kun, Tetsu-chan!" Their mother, a woman with light brown hair and gray eyes said from the kitchen. She was dressed in her work suit, about to leave. "How was school?"

Chihiro ignored her, sat on the couch and turned on the fan, while Tetsuya went and hugged his mother, who picked him up and kissed his forehead.

"Since Chi-kun's being a meanie!" She stuck her tongue out at her son, who was still ignoring her and reading, before smiling since she was used to it. He wasn't being rude, it was just how he was. "How about your day, Tetsu-chan?"

"Me and Ogiwara-kun played with Nigou. But he fell asleep..." The boy gave a small smile.

"Ah, good!" She felt bad about deny her son the dog, but their landlady simply didn't allow pets... Sighing, she looked around and noticed it was almost time for her shift.

"Oh no! I'll be late!" She shouted, putting the bluenette on the floor and doing a last-minute dash to get everything she needed for her job. "I bought some cake for you both, it's on the counter. I won't be home till late so tell tou-san that I told you all to eat without me."

When they both nodded, she rushed, kissing the younger and patting her oldest on the head, grabbed her shoes, and left to go to work.

When she was gone, Tetsuya went to his brother and sat on the floor. They were used to being left home alone. Their father worked the day shift and mother worked at random times of the day and night.

"I didn't get to say happy birthday..." Tetsuya said, sadness tinging the monotone. Chihiro looked at him over the cover of his book before sighing.

"She said she'd be back tonight, so just tell her then..." He returned to his book. When he did this, he heard the sound of retreating feet and saw that the blue-haired boy had left. He felt mildly concered, but a minute or two later he heard him come back with a book of his own.

Most people say that they were weird siblings. Chihiro was older, yet read such fantasy-like manga. While the younger Tetsuya read such complex books that had no pictures at all. Chihiro didn't know how the boy could read such books...

The siblings silently read their books in the living room together, until about two hours later their dad finally came home.

"I'm home." A man with dark gray hair and brown eyes shouted from the door. Tetsuya silently closed his book and went to greet his father.

"Welcome back, tou-san." Many people wondered how the small bluenette could look so different from all three of them, and the answer was simple. The family had adopted him when he was four. He had recently became orphaned after his parents were in a car accident. His only other living relative was his grandmother, but she wasn't healthy enough to take care of a four-year old boy even if he was such a polite and quiet one.

"Ahh, it's my little guy!" The man scooped up the boy and spun around, making the bluenette smile a little at the feeling of being able to fly. When he started to get dizzy, his father stopped and put him down before rubbing his own back, wincing a little. "I'm getting too old for that...Chihiro! Come here!"

Chihiro sighed and closed his book, heading over to his father. They had a staring contest as the twelve-year old and the older man refused to be the first to back down. Finally giving up after a few seconds, the man grinned and tousled the boy's hair. Said boy glared at him and swiped at the offending hand.

"Don't do that." He fixed his hair.

"Haha! After a long day of work, I think I deserve to annoy my son." Their father loosened his tie before heading to the bedroom. "I'll be back, just going to change then I'll make you both some dinner."

When the man exited the room, wearing his usual shirt and sweatpants, he went straight to the kitchen. And with the help of the blunette, who only stirred the ingredients together, they made dinner.

"So, kaa-san had to work at night again?" Chihiro nodded, eating his food silently.

"Tetsuya...you have rice on your face." His father went to remove it but the boy moved his head out of reach, making the man confused.

"Ogiwara-kun says it's good to have food for later." He explained, as if it were common knowledge. Chihiro felt his eye twitch at the ridiculous things that orange-head was telling his little brother.

"Haha, is that so? Well you'll have to get rid of it before bed, alright?" Tetsuya nodded and resumed eating. They finished their meal in a comfortable silence, both boys were always quiet so their father didn't mind. After dinner, their father went to take a nap in his room since it had been a tiring day and the two were alone in the living room again.

"Chihiro-nii?" The gray-haired boy had been about to go back to reading when the boy stopped him. "Can you help me make a card for kaa-san, please?" The boy wanted to give their mother something for her birthday.

_'I was just at a good part of the manga...' _But as he stared down at his brother, he gave in.

"Fine...Get the crayons and paper." He couldn't deny those big blue eyes. The boy smiled happily, running to their shared bedroom and grabbing the necessary materials, before heading back to the living room where his older brother was waiting.

Chihiro was a good drawer so while Tetsuya drew the people, which were just different colored stick figures, he added some background to make it look more card-like. Once the drawings were done, the bluenette wrote in the best writing he could, 'Happy Birthday Mom!'.

"How is it, Chihiro-nii?" The boy asked his brother with hopeful eyes. Chihiro inspected the finished card and noticed the R in Birthday was facing the wrong way, but it looked good otherwise.

"It looks fine..." The younger smiled a little before using the extra paper to draw random things. A few minutes later, Chihiro spoke up, putting his book down.

"Want to eat cake now?" He had seen the boy making small glances at the box that was on the counter that had the pastries in it. But, since Tetsuya was too short to reach it, he hadn't gone over to have one.

"Yes, please." He put down his crayons and went to the dining room table, waiting patiently for his brother to give him a slice.

Chihiro opened the box and looked inside, seeing that it wasn't a full cake, just four slices. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and coconut. Not really caring, he grabbed the first two and handed one of the wrapped cakes to his brother.

Unwrapping the sweet, he picked up his fork and was about to eat, when he noticed the downcast look the other had. Looking down he realized why. He had unintentionally handed the bluenette the chocolate piece, while he had the vanilla. He knew how much his brother liked vanilla...So he sighed and pushed the plate over to him before pulling the chocolate piece to himself and started eating.

"Thank you, Chihiro-nii." The boy thanked, before happily eating the delicious vanilla cake.

"Ah, you two ate without me..." They looked up and saw that their father was standing there with his arms crossed.

"How was your nap, tou-san?" The bluenette asked, taking another bite of cake. Their father ruffled his hair before grabbing the coconut cake and sitting at the table with them.

"It was good." He took a bite and looked at the time. "It's late...bed time after this, Tetsuya." Said boy pouted. It was summer vacation and he wanted to give his mom the card...

"You can give it to her tomorrow, Tetsuya." Chihiro said, knowing what the problem was. He was still a little sad, but he agreed and after he finished his dessert he went to his room to change into his night-clothes and then to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

The man smiled. Their adoptive son was so independent and caring. And even if Chihiro would never admit it, he saw that his son liked him.

"You should head to sleep too, Chihiro. It's been a long day." He didn't like to be treated like a kid, but he had to admit that he was tired...

Getting up from his seat, he headed to the bedroom and did his nightly routine as well. By the time he was done, his little brother was in his bed on the bottom bunk of their bunk bed. Climbing the ladder, he headed to the top bunk and got under the covers.

"Good night, Chihiro-nii." His brothers soft monotone voice said, a yawn following.

"Night..." He mumbled, getting comfortable. After a few moments, sleep claimed both of the young boys.

* * *

_**Morning**_

Blue eyes snapped open when the sun filled the room. He needed to give his mom her card before she left for work!

Jumping out of bed, he grabbed the card he and his brother had made. Opening their bedroom door, he went to the kitchen and frowned, seeing his mothers coat and shoes were gone...

"Sorry, Tetsuya, I tried to make her stay for a little longer, but kaa-san had to leave for a sudden appointment." The boy turned to see his father there, adjusting his tie, getting ready for work as well. The boy lowered the card and looked at the ground sadly.

"Ah, good morning, tou-san. The boy said, remembering he hadn't greeted his father.

"Haha, morning Tetsuya." He said, smiling at how polite his son could be even if he was sad. Just then, Chihiro walked into the living room and gave a mumbled 'hi' before plopping down on the couch, once again...

Gray eyes narrowed, at the gray-haired boy. If he let things be this summer, his son would do nothing but read. He needed to get out and enjoy the world!

"Why don't you two go to the mall and buy your mother something, as a belated birthday present?" He suggested. "I'm sure she'd love an amazing card and a gift!"

Tetsuya seemed eager to go, wanting to please his mother, but Chihiro just kept reading. Their father sighed and went to his son, bending down and saying the next sentence lowly with no malice, but demanding.

"It's an order, not a suggestion, Chihiro." That alone would've worked, but in order to make sure...He decided a bribe should do nicely. Grinning, he continued. "And if you go, I'll get tickets to that anime convention you wanted to go to..."

"Fine..." When Chihiro heard the offer he agreed, making the bluenette smile, happy to be going out with his big brother.

"Good, good. I'll be home at five. Your mother should be home before me, so make sure you lock the door on your way out." He trusted his boys, they were both very mature for their ages, but just in case... "Make sure you bring your phone with you, okay?"

Chihiro nodded, an annoyed expression on his face at the fact his father thought he was stupid enough to forget something like that.

"Have a good day at work, tou-san." The bluenette said as his father got ready to leave. Smiling, he patted his head and left.

With their father gone, the two boys got dressed, making sure they had their money, bags and keys before they headed out to catch the bus to the mall.

* * *

_**Mall**_

_'Boring...'_ Chihiro thought to himself. He was getting tired of looking for a present, but the bluenette couldn't decide what to get. They had gone to at least ten stores and were here for at least an hour. He just wanted to go back home and enjoy his vacation... Maybe go to the bookstore and get the new volume of his favorite manga.

The twelve and eight-year old boys were standing in front of a stand inside one of the stores in the mall. The bluenette decided to get their mother some jewelry for her present, but...

"Just get one, Tetsuya..." Uncertain blue eyes darted between the flower key chain and the bracelet. Chihiro sighed...

"I'll buy the bracelet, you can get the keychain, okay? Then she can have both..." He mumbled, snatching the bracelet from his younger brothers hand and going to the register. The bluenette smiled, happy that he didn't need to choose, and followed Chihiro to pay for the key chain.

Chihiro had been prepared to speak up louder than usual, expecting to be ignored since it usually happened when the two siblings went out together. People wouldn't notice them otherwise. But, as they walked up to the register the red-haired man looked at him only a few seconds after he stopped walking.

He raised an eyebrow at the unusual attention, but decided to ignore it and placed the bracelet on the counter, motioning for Tetsuya to give him the money and the key chain before placing them on as well.

"Nine fifty." The man replied, an amused edge in his voice. Chihiro handed him the money and only then did he take the time to look up at the cashier.

_'Weird..'_ He thought, seeing the man had two different colored eyes. He'd never seen that before, and the way they bored into his own blank eyes, made him shiver a little.

"Chihiro-nii..?" Tetsuya's voice came from next to him, snapping him out of his trance. When he looked down, he saw the boy was pointing to something and he saw that the man was holding his change in his hand. He hadn't noticed he had stared at the other for that long...

Chihiro glared at the man, whose eyes were filled with mirth, and grabbed his change.

"Let's go, Tetsuya." The boy looked after his brother, and was about to follow, but the cashier tapped the boys shoulder and handed the bluenette the bag with their purchased items in it, that the other had forgotten in his anger.

"Thank you very much." He accepted the bag and bowed to the man, remembering his manners, before trying to catch up with his brother as best he could. When he caught up, he saw the glare on the others face and knew the other was annoyed.

_'Making fun of me...' _Chihiro thought, remembering the mocking gaze.

Tetsuya followed silently, not wanting to bother his brother. But as they neared the exit, he decided he had to speak up.

"Chihiro-nii..." The gray-haired boy stopped when he felt his brother tug on his shirt. "I need to go to the toilet..."

Chihiro sighed. Why couldn't he wait until they got home..?

"Alright, give me your bag." The bluenette handed his backpack to his brother. "I'll be waiting right outside...Get me a soda too." Tetsuya nodded and took off to find the bathroom.

Watching the small boy run down the hall, Chihiro sighed and getting bored, decided to wait outside in front of the entrance so his brother could see him when he got back.

_'Once I get home, I'll read the next chapter of the manga and then sleep...'_

He was leaning against the railing outside, letting the breeze calm him down, trying to ignore the annoying sounds of superficial comments about what color was best on someone and children complaining about what toys they wanted, but couldn't get. It was too hot to deal with this... He hoped the bluenette got back soon with his drink...

For a second, he felt something block out the sun and looked up, seeing at least a dozen crows flying away.

_'Strange...'_ He'd never seen so many fly together at this time of year. He wondered why... A moment later he got his answer.

"What the...the ground..." He heard someone say who was standing to his right.

"Sh-Shaking..." A womans voice stuttered.

He was confused, not even a second later, he felt as if the ground underneath his feet was quivering. It was barely noticeable at first...but then it quickly increased, causing all the people outside to fall to their knees and cry out from the way the ground trembled violently.

"Earthquake!" A man screamed as the platform they were all standing on started to sway back and forth.

"M-Mommy!" A young girl cried as she fell to the quaking ground and bruised her knees.

Chihiro grabbed onto the railing to steady himself, only to stumble once again when the cement started to crack under him. He quickly jumped to the other side, watching as the place he was previously standing split into two.

Tightening his grip on the railing, Chihiro stared at the mall building as it caved in and cracked, windows shattering and rubble falling everywhere. Some of the people who were outside with him were hit by the falling rocks and others who saw the incident screamed when they saw all the blood created by the force of stone hitting flesh.

As he watched the chaos created by the earthquake, and people scrambling out of the opened doorway of the mall, he only had one thought.

_'Tetsuya...'_

* * *

**A/N 2: **Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews! , Guest, yuimomo, 2nd Guest, Lura Elsworth, GreenLavender, Harukaze Sora, Rika Tone, Reazthie, Riza Phantomhive, and 3rd Guest! XD :D

**A/N 2: **Didn't expect so many to like it! Thanks a lot for the approval! :D

**Warning: Gore and violence**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Tokyo Magnitude 8.0**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

_**Mall**_

Chihiro shakily stood, still not trusting the ground beneath his feet after what just happened. And hearing the people around him, they were also having trouble.

"I-Is it over?" A man's voice asked. People unsteadily picked themselves up, trying to recover from the unfamiliar sensation they had felt moments ago.

"Here, let me help." Chihiro looked over and saw a man bending down to help someone who had been unfortunate enough to get hit by the debris. Blood was flowing freely down the mans head.

Looking around, he saw that the streets were flooding from fire hydrants that busted during the earthquake. The roads were cracked and uneven, which must have been the reason there were dozens of totaled cars along the street.

_'If it's this bad here...'_ Gray eyes looked towards the entrance of the mall. He had to find Tetsuya.

Gripping his brothers bag tighter, Chihiro made his way to the shattered mall doors. As he got closer he could hear the sound of blaring alarms coming from inside.

Walking through the doors, he passed by two people, about his age walking together and from the looks of it, they were siblings...

Chihiro felt ashamed at the fact he had been too caught up in his selfish desire to go home and had let his little brother go on his own in such a big place. If he had gone with him, then it could be them walking out to safety together right now...

People ignored him as he made his way up the sloped flooring. He had to get to the bathrooms and look for him. He made his way over to the map to see where the closest one was.

_'A right, then straight...' _He kept a mental picture of the map in his mind, and headed for the restrooms.

As he made his way down the hallways in the direction of the bathrooms, and passed by many people who were wounded, he got more anxious to get there as soon as possible. To ease his nerves and see his brother in the room, waiting for him. Then they'd go home, and everything would be normal again...

With that in mind, he picked up his pace and stopped in front of the door with the bathroom symbol on it. With a sigh, he pushed open the door and walked inside. He no longer believed his previous reassurance...

The bathroom was a complete mess. Not only were the tiles cracked, but the stalls were broken and some collapsed on one another. The broken sinks and toilets were gushing with water, sending the liquid onto the floors, making it slippery as his shoes walked over them.

"Tetsuya?" He said, hoping his brother's voice would answer him, so he wouldn't have to go further into the room. When no response came back, he made his way towards the stalls, slipping a few times.

Checking them all, he saw that no one was in here... Where could he be? Had he gotten outside and he just didn't notice him..? No, even if he couldn't notice his brother right away, Tetsuya would have definitely seen him and called out. So he had to be in the mall somewhere.

Exiting the bathroom, he continued his search, heading in the opposite direction of the people who were trying to evacuate the building. However, he only made it a few feet before things went wrong.

"A-Again?!" A voice shouted, feeling the horribly familiar trembling of the ground.

"Oh god, please no!" A panicked woman yelled.

The ground started shaking. This earthquake wasn't nearly as bad as the first one, but it was still very disorienting.

Chihiro lost his footing, not having a wall or anything to balance himself and hit his head on the ground, making him dazed. He held onto his head with his hands to ease the pain and block out the horrible sounds of screams and the noise the building made as it shook.

He could feel the tremors lessening, when all of a sudden, he felt someone grab him roughly and drag him a few feet back. Opening his eyes, getting ready to glare at the person who touched him. He stopped, eyes widening when he saw a huge pile of stone had crashed into the place where he had been laying.

_'If the person hadn't moved me...'_ He was about to grudgingly thank the other, since he had saved him...but the voice he heard stopped the thankfulness.

"Oh, you're the boy who was too distracted to take his change..." Chihiro looked up, recognizing the voice... Please don't tell me it's... When his eyes landed on the others face, he felt the same anger as before.

_'That smug cashier...'_ He glared at the man, who had just saved him. But he didn't care if he had saved him or not, he still got on his nerves and he wanted nothing more than to get away from him.

"The exit's that way..." A red eyebrow raised, seeing the gray-haired boy was heading further into the mall rather than out. Chihiro simply walked past him and was about to continue onward, when a hand stopped him. Looking up, he saw the mans smiling eyes were now serious and knew that he'd have to explain himself if he wanted to be left alone.

"I need to find my brother..." Chihiro said, hoping the man would get the hint and let him go.

"The boy with the blue hair..." He heard the man mumble to himself. "Just leave, I'm sure your parents got him."

"We came here alone..." The man frowned at the information he received and looking down at the boy, he sighed.

"I'll help you." The red-head said, letting go of the boy's arm.

Didn't this man see that he was in a hurry? He didn't have time for this, Tetsuya could be hurt...or worse... He was about to refuse, when he spoke up again.

"It's dangerous to just randomly search by yourself. So either you calm down and let me help you or else I'll drag you out of here and search for him myself." The man's heterochromia eyes bore into his own, daring him to disagree with his logic. The way the boy was going about this was dangerous, and he refused to let him do something to get both of them killed.

Chihiro narrowed his eyes at the man. Who did he think he was..? Telling him what to do when they had only just met... But, if he hadn't helped him before... It was true, he needed this mans help, whether he liked it or not...

Seeing the defiance leave the blank gray eyes, Akashi started walking again, asking more people if they've seen Tetsuya. After a few minutes of this process, Chihiro was starting to get annoyed again. How was this helping him in his search? No one would notice his brother with the lack of presence.

But when the red-head asked a woman if she had seen any children around, they finally got a somewhat helpful answer.

"I heard there were a lot of kids found downstairs..." The woman said, trying to calm down her crying baby.

Akashi nodded in thanks, before going to the stairs that led to the bottom floor, Chihiro following. While descending the stairs, the red-head decided to ask what had been on his mind since he found the gray-haired boy.

"How did you both get separated?" The red-head asked. If he remembered right, the younger boy had caught up with the other when he stormed out of the shop.

Chihiro faltered slightly...He didn't want to admit that it was his fault that they were separated to this man who he barely knew.

"It's none of your business..." He realized that he didn't know the man's name.

"Akashi Seijuro."

_'How in the world..?' _What was this man?! A mind reader?! Seeing the other was giving him a look, he might as well appease him by returning the action.

"Mayuzumi Chihiro..." After that, Akashi tried to pry for more information, but the other just ignored him, so they went on quietly through the mall.

The lower they got, the worse it seemed. The top floors had been cracked and uneven. But these...there were puddles of water and many layers of smoke and fire. Many of the buildings pillars and ceiling tiles were on the ground burning.

"Alright, take this one outside." A mans voice shouted from a little away from them. Going towards the voice, they saw at least four people wearing hard hats and orange vests, moving debris and taking bodies out from underneath.

"What are you both doing here? You should get out, it's not safe here." Almost as soon as he said that, they felt a tremor go through the building, sending more of the ceiling down into the waters around them. It wasn't anything big, just an aftershock, but it still made them put their guards up. "See? Now, get going, it's dangerous."

"We are looking for a boy." Akashi said, ignoring the mans warning, and looking around for any children in the area.

"A boy..?" The man asked, giving in since the red-head look adamant about not leaving until he told him. But, the description he gave him...wasn't enough for him to know if they had found the one they were looking for.

"He's about...this tall." Chihiro raised his hand a little lower than his chest.

"Hm, I'm not sure... What was he wearing?" The man asked, making Chihiro pause.

_'What was he wearing...' _The gray-haired boy never really looked closely to what his brother wore that morning...He had been too eager to get going so they could go back home faster...

_'Why didn't I pay attention...'_ He scolded himself. Was he wearing his tan pants today? Black? He was trying to remember, when someone answered for him.

"He had on a white t-shirt, and dark blue shorts." The red-haired man responded, remembering the boy from when he entered the store earlier.

_'How did he...'_ Chihiro glared at the floor, face full of mortification. He couldn't believe that a complete stranger would notice something like that and yet he hadn't even remembered his own brothers clothing...

"White and blue..." The mans eyes widened after thinking. "There was one..." Chihiro felt relief as he said this, but then it was ruined...

"A boy, around seven or eight. One of the pillars crushed him...We tried to save him, but it was too late..."

_'What..?' _Chihiro could only stare at the man in front of him in disbelief.

"His body is over here...if you want to confirm it..." The man looked at the gray-haired boys bewildered expression and frowned. This wasn't easy to tell anyone...but they had to identify the body and alert the parents. He led the way to the area the boy was at.

_'Tetsuya...Crushed...' _Chihiro couldn't move. He couldn't imagine seeing his brothers dead body...he _couldn't_! He tried to back up, but the red-haired man stopped him.

"You need to do this." The mans red and gold eyes bore into his own. The gray-haired boy shook his head, unable to form words. But, the man persisted and loosely put a hand on the boy's shoulder, before guiding him over to where the man had went.

"It's a bit..." The person trailed off, not wanting to explain the gruesome and heartbreaking scene. For someone to die so young... Sighing, he slowly pulled back the sheet that was concealing the body.

"No..." Chihiro stared down at the blood covered body and shook his head. White shirt, blue pants... brown hair... "That's not him..."

He was glad that his brother wasn't the one under that sheet... but that just meant that he was either lost and alone, or dead like that boy and his body hadn't been found yet...

_'No, he can't be.'_ Chihiro refused to believe that Tetsuya could be like that unfortunate boy.

Without another word, the gray-haired boy took off blindly, ignoring Akashi's call for him to stop. As he ran down the halls, shoes splashing in the pools of water, he called out his brother's name now and then. Just as he was about to turn a corner, two arms grabbed him. Turning, he saw angry heterochromatic eyes, gone was the amusement, and it was replaced with fury.

"Stop being reckless! Look around you." The gray-haired boy finally noticed his surroundings, shattered windows, flooded flooring, and flames...lots of flames... But he didn't care. Something was telling him to come here.

"Just go then." Chihiro said. If this man wanted to go outside so much then he could just go. He couldn't...wouldn't leave until he found his brother.

He could see the man was about to say something else, but at that moment the ceiling behind them crumbled, catching on fire like the rest of the stores in the area and blocking the way they had come from.

"This isn't good..." Akashi mumbled, staring at the fire that was spreading at a fast rate, and if they didn't get caught in the fire, then they could suffocate from all the smoke. "Come on, maybe he's already out of here." When he saw the blue-haired boy earlier, he had a harder time noticing him than he had with Chihiro. It could be possible that he managed to get by them without him seeing.

Chihiro stared at the ground blankly, tightening his grip on the his brothers small blue bag. He wanted to believe it...that his brother was safe and sound outside, but something was nagging on the back of his mind. What was it... What was he forgetting?! He thought back to the moment when he and Tetsuya separated.

* * *

_"Chihiro-nii...I need to go to the toilet..."_

_"Alright, give me your bag." _

_"I'll be waiting right outside... Get me a soda too."_

* * *

_'That's right... I asked Tetsuya to get me a drink.' _There was one store that immediately came to mind, and it was on this floor!

Chihiro looked around wildly, and spotted the juice store that he and Tetsuya would go to with their parents. It was the only place in the mall that sold the specific soda that he liked. Could his brother have gone all the way here just to get it..?

If Tetsuya had really gone to get him a drink when the earthquake happened, then this was his best guess, knowing how kind-hearted the boy could be. He started running towards the store when a hand grabbed his elbow, preventing him from leaving.

"Look, this isn't the time to-." The red-haired man started, but Chihiro interrupted him.

"I need to check here!" Chihiro shouted, eyes narrowed and desperation in the usually indifferent voice.

Akashi was surprised by the loud voice the quiet boy was using and after seeing the determined look in the boys eyes, he knew that he couldn't make him leave unless they checked. He reluctantly nodded, let go of his arm and followed the boy as he ran inside of a store that hadn't caught fire yet.

Gray eyes looked inside of the destroyed store... The ceiling was missing many tiles lights handing from the ceiling, flickering on and off. The floors inside were as flooded as they were in the hallway, and the shelves were all toppled over and laying on each other or in the water. Otherwise...it was completely empty...

His last chance...gone... He had no idea where his brother was... He could feel himself losing the last of his fight.

"Come, we need to check if he's outside..." Akashi said a little softer than before, but still as forceful.

"Is someone there?! Please, help me get this shelf off!" A mans voice called from inside of the store. Looking back, they saw a moving hand sticking out from underneath one of the fallen shelves on the floor.

Chihiro didn't have the energy... He was about to leave when the red-haired man grabbed his arm, stopping him from his attempt to escape the situation, and gave him a pointed look. He sighed, and slowly went to help the red-haired man lift the shelf.

"Ch-Chihiro-nii?" A small voice spoke up from nearby.

_'Tetsu..ya..?'_ Chihiro stood frozen. Had he imagined it? Where had the voice come from? He looked towards the entrance doors and was about to head out of the store to search for his brother. The voice sounded so close!

"Hello?! Please, we can't lift this shelf!" The mans voice spoke up when he heard one of the footsteps get farther away.

_'We..?'_ The gray-haired boy stopped walking out of the shop. If he hadn't imagined the voice, and the man said there's more than just him then... He quickly made his way back to the rack and on Akashi's signal, began to pull with all of his strength.

A few moments later, the heavy shelf was raised off of the ground enough for the man and boy who were trapped underneath it to squeeze through and get out. Once they were out of the way, the red-head and gray-haired boy let go of the rack and it slammed back down on the other shelf it had been leaning on with a loud 'thunk'.

"Thank you..." The man said, sighing in relief. He had tried calling out for many minutes before with no response, he thought they were going to be stuck there forever.

Chihiro was about to say that it wasn't for him, when he felt two arms wrap around him. Looking down, he saw the familiar blue hair of his brother was pressed against his chest.

"Chihiro-nii..." Tetsuya's voice was slightly muffled as he spoke with his face against his brothers shirt, but Chihiro could hear a slightly scared tone to his voice.

Chihiro wasn't used to this kind of contact. Even though Tetsuya had been with them for years, never once had the boy openly hugged him like this.

_'He must have really been scared...'_ And looking around at the state that the store was in, Chihiro had no doubt that he had reason to be... Placing his gaze back to his frightened brother, he slowly raised his arms and returned the hug, patting the bluenette's back to calm him down.

"We should go." Akashi spoke up. He was glad they found the boy, but staying in the building any longer than necessary was dangerous. Not only was this part of the building catching on fire quickly, but if another aftershock happened then the ceiling could cave in.

Chihiro pulled away from his brother in embarrassment. He had forgotten that the two men were there for a second...

The red-head led the way, man and two boys following. The fire was closing off the area that they had come from, so they had to take the other stairs to reach the entrance, meaning they'd have to endure the flooded floors for a little longer than necessary.

"Stay close, Tetsuya." Chihiro said, seeing the boy was having a little trouble keeping his balance while trying to walk in the ankle high water that was covering the floor.

_'I guess I have no choice...'_ Chihiro grabbed his brother's hand and helped him through the rest of the way, not wanting to lose track of the boy again after just finding him. The four continued on towards the exit.

"I'm Takao Kazunari." The black-haired man introduced, smiling. Chihiro was reminded of his classmate Hayama, and immediately knew that he didn't like this guy...

"He's Mayuzumi Chihiro." Akashi said, smirking down at the boy, enjoying the baffled look on his face when he did so.

"Ah! Nice to meet you, Chihiro-kun." Takao said, disregarding the fact that the boy hadn't answered him directly.

_'Why do we attract weird people...'_ Chihiro thought with disdain, thinking of his and Tetsuya's friends. And now these two... He ignored them, and concentrated on just getting out of here, making sure that Tetsuya stayed beside him.

A few minutes later, after finding a stable set of stairs, and walking down the cracked mall walkways, they finally made it to the entrance. Tetsuya winced, after being in the dark for so long, the sunset light was hurting his eyes.

Chihiro looked at the scene where he had been when the earthquake happened. It was less hectic than before since there were fewer people and the injured ones he saw were nowhere in sight as well. There were some police officers outside, helping or instructing people who were exiting the building.

"Oh, Akashi." The tanned police officer said, recognition in his voice. "I would've thought that you had made it out already."

"Something came up." Akashi explained, vaguely as he walked up to the other.

Chihiro stared at the two in confusion. How did a cashier know a police officer..?

"Any news, Daiki?" The red-head asked.

"Right now I can't tell you everything... but there were a lot of casualties." Daiki said, sighing.

"I see..." Akashi mumbled, looking slightly troubled.

"What are you doing with a kid?" A navy colored brow raised when he saw the gray-haired boy standing behind Akashi.

"They got lost and I helped them." Chihiro glared at the man for making him seem like some weak and helpless kid.

"Them?" The confused response came. There was only one kid and a man, so why had the red-head said 'them' when he specifically said kid.

"Hello." A child's voice spoke up. Looking down, the police officer narrowed his eyes and jumped back when he saw the pale light blue-haired boy suddenly appear.

"What the.." Where did he come from?!

Chihiro inwardly laughed at the sight of a grown officer being scared of his little brother.

"There aren't many survivors here..." Takao said, frowning when he saw less than a dozen people standing around.

"There is a place they are all meeting at. It's a few meters away if you all want to go. They are providing food and blankets." The officer said. "I'd take you, but I'm on duty to make sure everyone makes it out alright."

"It's fine, Daiki." Akashi said, he nodded to the other before walking down the sloped platform, in the direction the other told them to head. But when he reached the sidewalk, he stopped and turned back to look at the three of them. "Are you coming?"

_'What..?' _He wanted them to come with him? First saving them, and now helping them get to safety... This man was weird... But it was getting cold and dark, so nodding, Chihiro went to follow.

"Thank you, officer-san." Tetsuya bowed to the man.

"Y-Yeah..." He stuttered, still a little weirded out by how invisible the boy was.

He watched as Tetsuya and Takao caught up with the red-head and gray-haired boy, before turning his attention back to helping others get out of the building. Still wondering why someone like Akashi was helping those two...

* * *

_**Evacuation Site**_

The four of them finally arrived at an area that was under an overpass. It was one of the only ones that hadn't crumbled during the quake, and from the sturdy look of it, it wouldn't be going down anytime soon. Akashi silently deemed the place Aomine and the other officers found good and went up the stairs, Takao, Chihiro and Tetsuya in tow.

They settled down on the stairs to relax after the long walk, but the black-haired man stood and announced his departure.

"You all take care, okay?" He smiled at them gratefully. "And thanks for helping me again!"

Tetsuya stood and frowned. He was leaving..? Takao's enthusiastic smile softened a little, noticing the boys sadness.

"I'll be right down there. I just saw one of my friends on the way up and want to greet him." He pointed down the rows of stairs in the direction of someone with green hair. The bluenette was still sad that the nice man was going, but he nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Takao-san." The bluenette said, smiling up at the man who had saved him when the earthquake happened. If he hadn't moved him out of the way, then the shelving would have fallen on him, rather than pinning them underneath.

"It's fine, Tet-chan." Takao ruffled the boy's hair and smiled. He had grown to like the boy as they talked while trapped in the store.

The eight-year old waved as the man walked down the stairs towards his friend who gave him a deep scowl.

_'That's Takao-san's friend..?' _Tetsuya tilted his head to the side, confused that a friend would give someone that look.

Once Takao sat down beside the green-haired man, Tetsuya went back over to his brother and sat next to him, looking at the red-haired man, who had decided to stay with them, curiously.

Akashi, feeling eyes on him, turned around and saw big blue eyes staring up at him.

_'Definitely interesting...' _He let out a little chuckle, before speaking up.

"We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Akashi Seijuro." The red-haired man said, giving the blue-haired boy an expectant look.

"Ah, I'm Mayuzumi Tetsuya. It's a pleasure to meet you." Tetsuya bowed to the man who helped his brother save him.

Chihiro looked at the blue-haired boy, noticing his soaked clothing. He was about to offer to get him a blanket, when Akashi beat him to it...

"You must be cold. I'll be back." The man said, walking towards the area where they were handing out items to people.

Gray eyes narrowed at the red-heads back, who voiced his brothers needs before he had. Making him look bad in front of his brother...

He was still seething, when the other came back a minute or two later.

"They only had soup left." The red-head handed the blankets to them and the cups with the soup inside of them, before sitting back down and observing the people around him.

"Thank you." Tetsuya said, accepting the cloth and food. Chihiro only got the items before ignoring the man altogether.

The three drank the soup in silence, finally getting somewhat warm. Eventually, Tetsuya yawned, feeling the effects of everything that had happened that day. He stopped eating and laid down on the stairs, wrapping the blanket around him more.

"Is kaa-san and tou-san alright, Chihiro-nii..?" The bluenette's tired voice spoke up, making Chihiro pause in his eating.

_'That's right...' _ Earthquakes aren't always centered in one area...their parents could... Looking down at the worried blue eyes, he decided not to think about it for his sake...

"Yeah...they're fine..." Chihiro saw a little of the worry leave his brothers eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chihiro-nii..." The blue-haired boy apologized. After leaving the bathroom he had gotten lost looking for the juice shop , which made him later than he should have been to get his brothers drink. And because of that, he hadn't made it back to his brother in time and Chihiro had to go through the trouble to search for him...

Chihiro stared down at his brothers saddened face, dumbfounded. He was the one who had let the eight-year old go through the mall on his own...and yet he felt as if he was the one at fault? Tetsuya had too good of a heart sometimes...

Sighing, he reached over and maneuvered his brother so his head was resting on his lap rather than the hard cold stone of the stairs they were on.

Tetsuya stared up at his brother in shock. His brother wasn't a very touchy person and usually preferred to be at a comfortable distance away from people. It was different... but it felt nice...

"Thank you, Chihiro-nii." He said with a smile on his face, referring to everything his brother went through to save him and for the actions he did just now.

"Just go to sleep..." He said, looking away from the bluenette's bright smile. Nodding, the boy turned onto his side and closed his eyes.

A few moments later, Chihiro heard the evened out breathing, and he let a tiny smile slip onto his face. His brother annoyed him sometimes...but he was glad that he was safe...

He was about to pat his head, when he heard a chuckle coming from his right. Looking over he saw Akashi was looking at him with the same amusement he had in his eyes when he first met the man in the mall.

"What..?" Chihiro asked, getting upset with at how the man looked at him with mirth. He was usually able to tune people out, but something about the man made it almost impossible to ignore him.

"Hmm..? Nothing..." The man gave him a smirk before turning away and laying down. The answer just made him hate the other even more!

_'What's his problem..?' _Chihiro sent a glare at the red-head before leaning back against the stairs and closing his eyes trying to tone down his anger enough to fall asleep.

Tomorrow he'd take his brother and they could be as far away from him as possible! He promised to himself as sleep claimed him.

* * *

**A/N 3: **Hmm XD This may not be a three-shot at this rate... ;-; Anyway XD was it okay? And let me know if its interesting enough to make it longer than 3 chapters? =)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you for all of the reviews! Anon, Lura Elsworth, Ginpachi-sensei, Guest, Reazthie, and Rika Tone! :D

**A/N 2:** Let me know if I'm making Akashi too OOC? I want him to be less 'I am all-knowing' than in the anime XD But not too much. Anyway, hope you like it :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Tokyo Magnitude 8.0**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

_**Evacuation Site**_

It was morning now and much hotter today than it was yesterday. A certain gray-haired boy woke up from experiencing the full blast of heat from the sun.

_'So...hot...' _Chihiro thought. He hesitantly opened his eyes, narrowing them when a bright light momentarily blinded him. After all that happened yesterday, he wanted to keep sleeping, but the heat made it almost impossible. Even with the overpass covering most of the intense rays, it did nothing to lessen the heat and humidity in the air.

Deciding that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, he slowly sat up, doing his best not to jostle Tetsuya's head too much. The blue-haired boy merely shifted a bit at the movement, and continued sleeping. How he was able to in this heat...Chihiro would never know.

Tetsuya had a tendency to fall asleep in the weirdest of places. Like...that time he fell asleep in the pool, making their mother freak out at seeing the bluenette's body just floating there unmoving. Or when their father came home from work early one day and almost tripped over the blue-haired boy who decided to take a nap in the entryway of their apartment.

Chihiro glared at nothing in particular, remembering how he had gotten in trouble for just reading his manga in the living room and letting his brother sleep there...

Looking down at his brother sleeping face again, he saw a little sweat and removed the blanket Akashi had given them the other night.

_'Akashi...'_ Chihiro suddenly remembered the red-head. He looked to his right, where the man had been before and saw no one there. He must have left them sometime this morning.

_'It's not like we need him...'_ Chihiro said, glaring at the spot the man had been last night.

Taking his gaze from the spot, he noticed that there were significantly fewer people sitting on the steps than there were yesterday. Figuring that they must have left to go home, he realized that he and Tetsuya would have to do so eventually as well.

Thinking about that, made him remember that his parents were still out there. Despite his usual indifferent attitude towards them, he still cared for them and he had to make sure they were alright.

He pulled out his phone and dialed his mothers number. When the call screen came up, he had some hope in him that she would be fine and greet him with her usual annoying cheerful voice and come to get them. But as he was about to put his ear to the phone, the call screen ended and the words 'no signal' replaced it. Sighing, he put his phone away.

_'We'll just have to go to them...'_ He decided, after seeing yet another group of people walk down and away from the steps.

"Wake up, Tetsuya." The gray-haired boy shook his brother lightly until the bluenette's eyes twitched and a moment later opened.

"Ah, good morning, Chihiro-nii." Tetsuya said, sleepily when he saw that it was his brother next to him. Blue eyes looked around for a moment, not recognizing their location, until he remembered everything that happened yesterday. Going to buy their mother a gift, the earthquake, and being separated from his brother...

"Did Akashi-san leave, Chihiro-nii?" The eight-year old asked, not seeing the red-haired man, who had helped them the other day, present.

"Yes." Chihiro said, shortly.

The younger frowned a little at the answer. The red-haired man had helped them both and he hadn't properly thanked him for doing it...

"I did?" Chihiro's eye twitched at the voice... Blue and gray eyes turned in the direction it came from and saw the red-head coming towards them. Behind him was the black-haired man who worked at the juice store that Tetsuya had gone to...Takao, Chihiro remembered his name after thinking for a little. Next to Takao, was a green-haired man who had equally green eyes that were behind black-rimmed glasses.

_'Dang it...'_ Now there was another weirdo...

"Good morning, Akashi-san, Takao-san, and..." The bluenette looked up at the tall green-haired person in front of him, who merely kept looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"He's Midorima Shintaro. He's just in a bad mood because of the heat." Takao provided, before grinning. "Isn't that right, Shin-chan?"

"I told you, Takao. Stop calling me that." The man sighed, too hot to properly scold the other.

"Ah, good morning, Midorima-san." Tetsuya greeted politely, making the man look down at him and nod in response to his greeting.

Chihiro just ignored them all. He saw no need to speak to people who he would never see again. But, seeing how the red-head had come back to them, he couldn't help but wonder why and where he went...

It seemed that he must have accidentally let his face show his interest show on his face, because Akashi spoke up.

"I woke up early and decided to find out more about how much the earthquake destroyed." The gray-haired boy nodded, accepting the answer.

"Akashi-san knows Takao-san?" Tetsuya asked, tilting his head in confusion. They hadn't acted like they knew each other before.

"Well, I've seen him around the mall a few times since we both work there, and Shin-chan" Chihiro didn't miss the way the green-haired mans eye twitched at being called by that nickname again. "mentioned an 'Akashi' before. But we've never formally met."

"Let's go, Tetsuya." Chihiro said. If this man wanted to hang out with his grown up friends, then fine by him. Sure, he didn't know the area very well, but they'd just have to find the nearest bus and get home. It'd be a lot better if it were just the two of them and not with some red-head who kept trying to boss him around.

The bluenette nodded, putting on his backpack and stood to follow his brother. Before they could get out of reach, a hand was placed on each of their shoulders, making them stop.

"Unless you both live near here, I suggest you wait." Heterochromatic eyes surveyed them.

"And why should we..?" Chihiro asked. They did live quite far away from the mall, almost a thirty minute ride by bus. But, that was nothing compared to how long they'd have to wait for the officers to come to them.

"Give me your 1seg, Shintaro." Midorima sighed and placed the device in the red-head's hand.

_'He wants us to watch something..?'_ The gray-haired boy was about to refuse. They had a long way to walk and this man just seemed to be trying to delay them. But as he looked at him, he saw the firm and serious look and became curious at what he wanted to show them.

_'I guess a few minutes won't matter...' _Chihiro thought, looking down at his brother who was looking at the device in the mans hands with just as much curiosity as himself.

He nodded sharply and took the 1seg from him. The video was paused, he saw that there was a woman with long black hair and dark blue eyes on the screen, sitting behind a desk. From the background and words across the bottom and side of the screen, he assumed that the video was about the news. He hit the play button and listened.

_"Hello, this is Araki Masako of channel 8 news. We will now talk about the earthquake that hit the northern part of the Teiko region yesterday at 1345h. The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of approximately 25 kilometers below sea level. Its magnitude is estimated to be 8.0 on the Ricter scale. As a result, there may be many aftershocks and tsunamis, so please be very careful."_

_'Aftershocks?'_ Chihiro mildly wondered if that was what they had felt when that piece of ceiling almost fell on him and the tremors they felt when they went to the lower levels of the mall.

_"All transportation will be suspended because of large-scale fires that have broken out all over the downtown area and police say they won't be restored anytime control has been implemented and entry to the area surrounding those areas are forbidden for safety reasons."_

The gray-haired boy now knew why Akashi had stopped them. If there were no buses or trains working, then getting home would be a problem for just the two of them.

_"As of now, 843 deaths have been confirmed, including many injured and missing persons..." _

_'843..?' _Chihiro couldn't believe how many people had died. It then came back to him. That kid's body he saw yesterday and the many other bodies that had sheets covering them in the mall. He had been so caught up in finding his brother, that he hadn't really taken in the fact that others have died.

Noticing that he was missing some of the broadcast while in his thoughts, he quickly returned his attention back to the news.

_"...who are currently in an area with any fires, please evacuate to one of the shelters that have been provided by law enforcements."_

_"I will now turn this over to Professor Harasawa Katsunori." _The woman finished talking, putting down her papers and turned away from the camera. A moment later, the screen split into two and a man with wavy black hair came into view on the left. _"Please explain the current situation."_

The man nodded and began his explanation of the events that happened.

_"Since the earthquake hit the capital, approximately 6.5 million people will have difficulty heading home, seeing as transportation is out of order. I would advise people to either walk to their destinations or stay put in the provided shelters until the aftermath is finished."_

_"How long do you estimate the aftershocks will continue? And is it possible to tell how strong they will be?"_ The woman asked.

_"I believe that the aftershocks will continue for three days at nothing more than magnitude 5.0. However, they may happen at random intervals, so caution is advised." _

_"Thank you, Professor." _The man nodded and the screen returned to normal, only the woman showing again. _"That's all we have for now. We will keep you updated when we have more information."_

The screen went black, signalling that the news broadcast was over. Chihiro shut off the device and gave it back to the man.

_'So, we have to walk home...'_

"As you heard, we can't stay here." Akashi said. "I asked around and they told me that this is only a temporary evacuation site for those who survived in this area. Soon the officers will have to leave and focus on the main ones. We will have to walk and find another place. And since I assume that you don't know the area well..."

There was no way they could make it around without getting lost... He sighed, knowing that they had no choice but to accept their help.

Akashi could see the gray-haired boys stubborn look turn into one of reluctant acceptance, and once again felt a smirk make its way back onto his face. Something about his attitude just plain amused him.

"Oh! Here!" Takao shouted, holding out two rice balls to the boys. "We went and got some real food as well."

"Ah, thank you, Takao-san." Tetsuya accepted the triangle-shaped food and sat back down, Chihiro doing the same, nodding in thanks.

Chihiro waited for Tetsuya to unwrap his own rice ball. When the bluenette took a bite he started eating his as well.

"Tet-chan, you should eat more carefully." Takao said, noticing a piece of the food was on the boy's cheek. He was about to remove it, but the bluenette just scooted farther from him.

"It's for later..." Tetsuya said plainly, before nibbling on the rice ball again. Why did people keep trying to make him get rid of his snack..? The three adults looked at the boy in confusion, wondering what in the world he meant.

"Oh...I see..." Takao withheld a laugh, going along with the unexpected statement. Akashi and Midorima however just kept the puzzled looks on their faces.

Chihiro couldn't help but smirk at the fact the red-head looked genuinely shocked for the first time. He silently thanked the annoying orange-haired friend for being part of the reason that caused him to wipe that smirk off of the red-haired mans face.

While the two ate, the adults talked about what to do from here on.

"We could stay here and hope maybe Aomine can give us a ride." Midorima suggested. Akashi had told him about their meeting at the mall and even if public transport wasn't an option, perhaps they could get someone else to take them.

"That won't be possible...Someone said that the bridge connecting Teiko to the other island is on fire. Not only that, but the roads are closed." Akashi muttered, looking in the direction of the smoke that was in the distance. "We have no choice but to walk..."

"We can't just walk. If you've forgotten, Teiko is an artificially made island. There's no way on or off of it, other than that bridge." Midorima said. "We should just stay here until they fix the bridge."

"If another aftershock happens, this place could very well sink." Akashi narrowed his eyes at Midorima, who stared back just as stubbornly. "Staying here would be bad."

They both knew that the other had a sound argument, but they had to decide on something. Takao was about to say his thoughts, when a loud voice echoed around the area. They looked over and saw a small boat with the words 'Japan Coast Guard' written on the side of it.

_"This is the Japan Coast Guard!"_ There were three people on-board who were all wearing life vests and uniforms. The man who was speaking must have been in the wheel room, because the others were busy doing tasks. _"We will be operating a sea bus to transport victims! Those who wish to be transported from Teiko to Seiho Pier, please gather at the docks near the park! Those who wish to embark to Kaijo-."_

They stopped listening to the man after that, since Seiho was much closer to them than the Kaijo area.

"Well, that settles it then." Takao smiled. The broadcast had effectively cut off the red and green-haired mens argument. The two stared at him for a little, before grudgingly nodding. Seriously, both of them hated to be wrong...

Chihiro finished his rice balls as the three finished their chat and looked over to see that Tetsuya hadn't finished his. And from the looks of it, he was too full to eat the rest.

"Just wrap it back up and put it in your bag, Tetsuya." The gray-haired boy said.

The bluenette frowned a little before nodding, wrapping the remaining food in the aluminum and putting it in his backpack. Chihiro blamed Tetsuya's teacher for his hesitancy to not finish a meal. The man would practically force the boy not to throw away his meals in the cafeteria, even if he was too full to eat anymore. When their mother found out about this, she started packing lunches for Tetsuya.

"Alright, ready to go?" Akashi asked. Seeing the bluenette put on his bag and Chihiro stand, he assumed they were. The five walked down the stairs and began following the group of people who were heading for the piers.

* * *

_**On the way to the boating area**_

The farther they walked from the evacuation site, the more people they had seen. Now, there were hundreds of people around them and all of them were as eager to get home as they were. People were pushing and shoving each other over the littlest of things. But, who could blame them after all that had happened?

After walking for almost an hour, they finally reached the intersection that lead to the piers. But they still had a ways to go. They stopped, seeing the rest of the crowd were gathering in front of a man who was shouting directions to the survivors of the earthquake.

"Those who want to go to Seiho Pier, take a right! Kaijo Pier, take a left!" The man with the megaphone shouted for people who didn't know the area well, but the red-head already knew the way and had started for the right path before he mentioned it.

"Stay together." Akashi warned. With this big of a crowd, if they lost sight of each other then it'd be difficult to regroup, especially since it took him a little while to even notice the boys at first. Everyone nodded and continued walking.

"You okay, Tetsuya?" Akashi asked, and slowed down a little seeing how the youngest was having a little trouble keeping up with their longer strides. The blue-haired boy nodded.

"I could give you a piggy-back, Tet-chan." Takao offered with a smile.

"Ah, I'm fine." The bluenette started, but Takao just grinned and easily picked the boy up. Chihiro glared at the mans back for picking up his brother against his will. But seeing his blue eyes light up at having such a different perspective of things, he let it go.

"Want to hold my hand too, Chihiro-kun?" Takao asked, holding a hand out to the boy, who just gave the hand a weird look before ignoring it completely and continued walking. The black-haired man frowned a little at the action. "Ah, so moody. He's like you Shin-chan."

"What? Are you calling me a kid?" Midorima glared at his friend, Chihiro also glared at the black-haired man, angry that he had technically insulted him.

"Hahaha! Look Akashi, Tet-chan, they both made the same face!" Takao laughed at the two who were both glaring at him, and the red-head and bluenette couldn't help but let a small smile go onto their faces.

Midorima 'tsked', but Chihiro inwardly seethed.

_'Trying to treat me like a kid...'_ There was no way he'd resort to holding someones hand like a baby! Chihiro was brought out of his thoughts as he noticed the pace of the crowd had picked up and he could barely see the green, red, blue and black hair. He was about to pick up his pace as well and get to them before he lost sight of them, but as he did, someone bumped into him.

"Don't just stand there, kid! Keep moving!" The man hadn't noticed him there, but he wasn't about to apologize for walking. With a scowl, the man continued after the crowd and disappeared from Chihiro's sight.

_'I _was _walking!'_ Chihiro had the urge to shout at the rude man, but he just gritted his teeth, and tried to calm himself down. People in general annoyed him, but those types especially got on his nerves.

Once some of his anger dissipated, he looked around and froze. He didn't see anyone... Not Tetsuya, or Akashi or the other two...

_'Where?'_ He looked around, making sure to keep walking so no one else would bump into him. All he saw were unfamiliar faces and he knew that he had gotten distracted and had lost them.

"Tetsuya?" He looked around for his brothers bright blue hair, hoping to notice the contrasting color from the sea of brown and black-haired people. When he didn't, he stood still and tried to look more carefully. He didn't realize his mistake until after it happened.

The people behind him, not noticing that he was there, walked into him and pushed him forward. He managed to straighten a little but then lost his footing and shortly after felt himself getting closer and closer to the hard asphalt of the road. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of hitting the hard surface to come.

But, before he could hit the ground, a hand grabbed his wrist, stopping his fall. A few seconds later, noticing that he hadn't fallen, he looked up and saw the familiar heterochromatic eyes of Akashi. The others behind him.

"Are you okay, Chihiro-nii?" Tetsuya asked. When his brother disappeared, he'd been the first to notice and had looked for him from his increase elevation. Takao placed the boy down when he squirmed a little to get down to his brother.

"I'm fine..." He grumbled, embarrassed that he had lost his temper so much and had lost track of things.

"I suggest you hold hands, Chihiro." Akashi said firmly. Getting to the boats would mean nothing if they all got lost.

"Here, hold on." Midorima said, holding out his hand. Tetsuya looked at the mans hand and was hesitant to grab it.

Seeing the worry in the blue eyes, the green-haired man knew what was wrong.

"My hands aren't hurt...It's tape, not bandages." He explained.

_'Why in the world would he tape his fingers..?'_ Chihiro didn't get it, but he had no intention of holding hands with someone who'd do something weird like that.

But, the bluenette didn't seem to mind, since a moment later Tetsuya accepted the offered hand and smiled in relief when the man didn't wince in pain like he had expected when he saw the white wrapping on his hand.

"And I thought that you hated kids, Shin-chan." Takao nudged the others side.

"B-Be quiet. It's just so we won't have to waste anymore time if they get lost, is all." Midorima explained his reasoning, looking away from the look smug look Takao and Akashi were giving him.

"Mhmm..." Takao's smile just widened. Midorima's eye twitched at the unbelieving response.

"Chihiro-nii?" The gray-haired boy looked down and saw that his brother was holding out his hand to him.

It felt weird for his brother to be the one to try and protect him... But, remembering what happened just a few moments ago, he knew that it would be a good idea not to get separated again... It was better than holding one of the other three's hands. With a sigh, he slowly took his brother's hand and made sure not to let go.

"We should almost be there." Akashi announced, seeing the sign for the pier in the distance.

As they were walking towards the sign, they started to hear a rumbling noise. All of the people in the crowd froze, hearing the sound as well. The trees and poles that hadn't fallen before were now quivering a little.

"Aftershock?" Midorima asked, feeling a small tremor. It was nothing like the magnitude 5.0 they had been told to expect, and they were glad. Until a moment later when the shaking increase.

This aftershock lasted longer than the one. Not only was it enough to send everyone to their knees, but in the distance the crowd could see one of the skyscrapers crumble to the ground. But that wasn't the only thing... The support beams that held the overpass they were about to go under, shook violently before they too cracked in half. And without the support of the beams the highway came crashing down towards the many people below.

Luckily, they were far enough from it to not get hit by the huge structure, but from the force of the broken road and metal hitting the street below, clouds of dirt, dust and rock were sent flying towards the crowd.

Chihiro closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Tetsuya's hand, he shielded his brothers face from the mass of soil and rock that was coming at them. When he didn't feel the objects hit him, he noticed that just as he had shielded his brother, Akashi had shielded them both.

_'Why..?'_ He really didn't understand this man.

"5.0's are pretty strong..." Takao murmured, getting up shakily.

Chihiro made sure the bluenette was alright, before looking around at the damage.

Everyone around them were in complete shock at what they had witnessed. The only sounds being the cries of the oblivious babies, who were weeping at the sudden loud noise.

"N-No way..." A man near them whispered, looking in front of him at the destruction that the aftershock had caused.

"Th-The highway...it fell..." A woman stuttered.

"We can't keep walking now... We'll have to get to the Kaijo boats!" Someone declared, taking his wife's hand and going towards the area that people were gathering to go to Kaijo Pier.

The adults did their best to block Tetsuya's and Chihiro's view of the accident. It wasn't something a child should see... The bluenette and gray-haired boy had only gotten a glimpse of the accident, but a glimpse was all they needed... Some people hadn't been able to move out of the way in time when the structure collapsed. Even if most of the bodies were covered, there were still signs of limbs and blood sticking out from underneath the rubble.

_'Could have been us...' _He thought. This was getting too real for him. Akashi saw the panic on the twelve-year olds face and tried to change the subject.

"We just have to make our way to Kaijo and then handle things from there." Akashi said, looking at the remains of the collapsed highway. There was no way they'd be able to get around it... Seeing the gray eyes still had the scared look in them, the red-head shook him to get his focus. "Come on. You want to get home, right?"

Chihiro looked at the man then at his equally frightened brother, and nodded. He had to be strong so they could both meet their parents. Akashi looked at Takao and Midorima and saw they had always recovered from the event. Taking the gray-haired boys hand, who offered no resistance this time, they turned away from the mess, and followed the crowd of people who had come to the same conclusion.

Chihiro, after seeing how close they had come to dying, made sure not to let go of the mans hand and kept his brother close to him the whole way to the pier.

* * *

_**Boating Area**_

They finally arrived at the docks that would take them to Kaijo Pier, but the only problem now was the hundreds of other people who also needed to get on and go there. There were only two boats being sent at a time and with all of the men and women there, it'd take forever to be able to get on one.

"Maybe we can get on that boat?" Takao asked, seeing a smaller boat off to the side, only carrying three uniformed people on it. Someone else had the same idea and tried to walk onto the boat, but was quickly sent away by one of the coast guards.

"This ship will be rescuing those who fell into the water! I repeat! Do not board this ship, it's for rescuing purposes only! Those two boats over there are the sea buses. Please go to those to get to the pier!"

"Well, that answers that question..." Midorima sighed.

"This ship will departing soon! Please stay clear so you don't fall, and give priority to weaker people!" The mans shouted over the loud and rowdy crowd.

"Can these two get on?" Akashi asked, pointing to Tetsuya and Chihiro.

_'He'd let us go on before him..?'_

The coast guard didn't see what he meant for a moment, but when he finally noticed the boys, he jumped a little before recovering and answering.

"Yes, those two may go on this boat." The man said, looking down at the two kids.

"Alright, go ahead on the ship." Akashi said. The adults looked reluctant to send them on their own, but they knew it was best to let them get home as soon as possible. So they waved goodbye to the bluenette and gray-haired boy.

"Take care okay, Tet-chan, Chihiro-kun." Takao said.

"But..." Tetsuya had a frown on his face and shoulder slumped at the thought of never seeing the nice men again. Chihiro looked at the three men and sighed. They had helped them this whole time... he supposed that they should return the favor...

"He's our f-father." Chihiro said, choking on the word. "Right, Tetsuya?"

_'Akashi-san is tou-san?'_ The bluenette tilted his head at Chihiro, who gave him a look. Catching onto what his big brother was trying to do, Tetsuya smiled at the man.

"Yes... please let tou-san and our ojii-san's come on with us..?" He asked the man politely. The man stared at the big, shimmery blue eyes and backed up a little. That look...he tried to deny it...

"R-Right now, we are only taking women and children on the boats." The man looked at the boat, seeing a few more openings, then looked down at the two boys, and sighed. "But seeing how young they are, it wouldn't be a good idea to let them go by themselves... Alright, you can go on the ship with them."

Akashi, Midorima and Takao were shocked at what they had just done. Being able to fool someone with such ease, especially since they all looked nothing alike!

_'Evil siblings...'_ Akashi couldn't help but chuckle at their antic.

"What?! Why do they get to go?!" One of the men shouted. He had been forbidden to get on the boat, but they were letting three other men to go on it?

"C-Calm down sir. There will be more boats, but it's priority to ensure the safety of the women and children." The officer tried to calm the crowd down, but he could tell it was having little effect. He decided to make the five hurry onto the ship so they could fill in the next one. "Well, get on."

Akashi nodded, and took the bluenette's hand to help him onto the boat so he wouldn't fall. He was about to help Chihiro, but the boy ignored his hand and stepped onto the vessel with no problem. Raising a brow, Akashi let the matter drop and led them to the back of the boat where there were seats available. Takao and Midorima went on and took a seat near them.

Soon after they settled down, the boat pulled away from the dock and they headed through the ocean towards Kaijo.

Chihiro looked back at Teiko. Seeing smoke and fire coming from many places in the city, including on the bridge they had driven across to get here. It was so different from how it was just 24 hours ago when he and his brother had gone to buy their mother a gift...

_'Finally away from there...'_ He let out a relieved sigh.

"I didn't know you cared enough to have us come with you, Chihiro-kun." Takao smiled at the gray-haired boy and went to ruffle his hair, but Chihiro ducked away from the approaching hand.

Chihiro turned away to ignore the black-haired man and when he did, he saw his brother staring at something with a far away look in his eyes. Following his gaze, he saw that he was looking at a mother and her children. They both looked scared from the events that happened and the woman was hugging them.

_'He must be thinking about her...' _The gray-haired boy deduced. Ever since he was adopted, their mother was always there to comfort them when something went wrong.

Tetsuya may be quiet and mature for his age, but he was still only eight. If Chihiro felt worried for his parents, then the bluenette must be even more affected by the separation than he was.

He slowly lifted his hand up and firmly placed a hand on his brother blue locks, tousling his hair and effectively snapping him out of his daze.

"I'm sure they're fine, Tetsuya." Chihiro said resolutely when the bluenette looked up at him.

"Yes..." Tetsuya was still worried, but hearing how sure his brother sounded, he felt slightly better. The bluenette gave Chihiro a small smile, but had to stop himself from looking back at the family.

Akashi was about to say something, when he heard a creaking sound coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was in the direction of the bridge.

_'Not good...' _He thought, seeing what was going to happen.

"Hold onto the railings. Don't let go no matter what." He told them. They looked at him in confusion, but did as he told. A moment later there was a loud explosion and the whole bridge collapsed.

Everyone in the boat shouted at the sudden noise and looked at the source. The explosion wasn't a problem since it had happened at least a mile away from them... but there was definitely danger. The collapsed bridge fell into the water, causing a huge wave to form.

They watched in horror as the wave came upon the boat that had been behind them. The water engulfed the ship and they lost sight of the boat for a while. But, when it resurface...the boat was empty.

The passengers of the ship that Chihiro and the others were on didn't have time to mourn the people who had been sent off of the boat, because the wave was now coming at them.

Chihiro held onto Tetsuya tightly as they both gripped the railing. The boat lifted into the air, enough for them to almost flip upside down. But since they were farther away from the origin, the wave wasn't has huge or powerful enough to tip over the whole boat. And after a moment the ship landed roughly back on the keel.

They all held on longer until they were sure that the danger was over. Eventually the boat stopped rocking back and forth and the sea water was calm once again. The screams of panic gradually died down until there were only whispers of amazement that they hadn't capsized..

"Ch-Chihiro-nii..." The gray-haired boy tore his eyes away from the horrific scene and looked at his brother, who looked passive, but Chihiro could tell from the look in his eyes that he was scared. "The people...they didn't come up..."

It was true, not a single person that fell off, had broken the surface of the water. It was surreal...seeing a boat full of people disappear right before their eyes

"If he didn't let us on this boat..." Takao stared wide-eyed at the empty one behind them. He hadn't finished his sentence, but the others knew what he meant... If they had been on that other boat...then they would have drowned as well...

The whole ride to Kaijo suddenly turned bleak. Everyone affected by the many near death experiences.

Chihiro noticed his brother curl up, putting his knees to his chest and head on them. Something he had done many times when he first came to their house after being adopted. Takao rubbed the bluenette's back, trying to calm him down.

Chihiro wanted to comfort him as well, but he didn't think he could. Too much had happened... He leaned back against the railing and closed his eyes.

"Everything will be fine now." The red-haired man proclaimed, tone unwavering.

Chihiro opened his eyes and looked over at Akashi. Seeing the equally steadfast expression on the mans face, he found himself believing... He hoped he was right...


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you for all of your reviews! Rika Tone, Lura Elsworth, Sarekkandarikulover, knight09, EclipseKuran, Gou, sunflora263, and Guest! And a thanks to those who followed and favorited, as well!:D

**A/N** **2:** Ahh! It's been so long since I've touched this fic, but I was craving some Mayu/Kuro sibling-ness XD I apologize for the long wait, and thanks for sticking with me. =)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or Tokyo Magnitude 8.0**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_**Kaijo Pier**_

_"Yesterday at around 1345h, a huge earthquake occured in the central region of Teiko. The epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 25 km below sea level of the northern part of the Tokyo Bay and was an estimated magnitude of 8.0..."_

Chihiro vaguely listened to the rebroadcast coming from the 1seg in Midorima's hands. After disembarking from the sea bus, Akashi had decided it best to see how things were before proceeding. But it seemed that even the news station was in the dark about the large-scale, since the woman only mentioned things that they'd heard a few hours ago.

"So, what now?" The green-haired man questioned, shutting off the device once it went silent.

They were off of Teiko island, so they didn't need to worry about the land beneath their feet sinking. But even if there was no danger of that happening anymore, there was still the need to get to their destinations as quickly as possible.

"We may have to consult the guards to see where to go from here." Akashi said.

"You don't know the area?" Chihiro asked, raising a brow. It wasn't that he knew either, but he would have expected them to know at least a little about the Kaijo area since they had told them to board the ship to get here.

"There are most likely roadblocks because of the earthquake, so getting there may be different than usual." The red-head answered.

Midorima looked around and saw that people were going to one of the officers who were passing out pieces of papers, that could be maps. Figuring it best to be safe, he excused himself and went to get one.

Chihiro watched the man walk away and wiped his forehead tiredly, the heat effecting him. It was definitely hotter here, thanks to the fact they were beside the ocean. Akashi, noticing all of their predicaments, looked around and spotted a few vacant seats under what looked to be a bus station.

"Come, we shouldn't stay out here for too long." He said to the four, heading over to the shaded area.

The four of them situated themselves under the shade, and sat silently as they waited for Midorima to return.

"It sure is better under here isn't it, Tet-chan?"

Tetsuya looked up from his action of playing with a nearby rock and nodded at the man. Chihiro could tell that his brother was still down about the fact their parents weren't here, but it was a relief to see the boy reacting to things again instead of staying curled up like he had on the boat.

"What about you, Chihiro-kun?" Takao asked, smiling at the gray-haired boy.

Chihiro only spared him a glance, still not forgiving the overly friendly man for patting his head earlier. But he inwardly had to admit it was much better to not be out in the blazing sun.

Just as he was about to relax, someone rushed by them and caught his attention. Looking over he saw a man there, wearing a bright orange vest similar to the other authorities were. The guard walked over to the booth where other uniformed people were standing, before conversing with one of them. Being close, they were able to hear part of their conversation.

"What's the situation?"

"The fires are spreading quicker than we thought. The firefighters are trying to put it out, but we might need more help to tend to it and get everyone here."

"Alright, tell the guards to turn back immediately and get more civilians once they let the passengers off." With the instructions, the uniformed coast guards went to do as told while the other said something into a walkie-talkie.

"Sure is busy here, isn't it?" Takao noticed.

"It's to be expected. After the explosion the others still on the island must be in a hurry to get out of there before the next aftershock." Akashi said.

Chihiro frowned, remembering the events that happened no more than an hour ago. The ride had luckily been uneventful after the accident, but he still couldn't shake the memory of what happened. Seeing a whole boat of people disappear right in front of his eyes was something he wouldn't forget anytime soon...

"Sorry, took longer than I expected." The green-haired man said when he returned.

"It's fine. Did you get the map?"

"Yes, they told me that the area's marked in red are blocked off because of the area conditions." Midorima informed as he handed the paper to the red-head. Akashi wasted no time to inspect it.

"Why's the park marked?" Takao asked, pointing to one spot on the map that was highlighted. Midorima looked to where his friend was pointing before answering.

"He said that's where they're distributing relief supplies."

"Hm... The nearest shelter is pretty far..." Akashi murmered. From the looks of it, there were only two possible routes they could take from here. One seemed to be the shorter way that would save them at least an hour or two, while the other one went through the park.

"Maybe we should have tried to find a way around the wreckage." Midorima mumbled, seeing the contemplative look on the red-head's face.

In all the panic and confusion that was caused by the highway collapsing, they had totally disregarded the idea. Boarding the sea bus, and arriving at Seiho Pier would have saved them a few hours of walking. But, Akashi knew that staying on that island any longer than necessary was a bad idea, especially with all the aftershocks that were occurring.

"It's a setback, but we will still get there in the end." The red-haired man said.

"So, which route?" Takao didn't mind either choice, since both were much better than what they'd been through already.

Akashi thought for a moment. If it were just him, Midorima and Takao, he was sure that they could hold out that extra hour. But seeing the tired looks of the siblings in front of him, he decided it best that they took a break after all that walking earlier today. "For now, we will go to Kaijo Park."

Chihiro wasn't delighted by the news, since for every minute they wasted, the longer it'd take to get home. But since he didn't know much about this area, and the fact that he was feeling slightly exhausted already, he accepted his decision.

"It's about a fifteen minute walk there. We should get going if we're to make it to the park and then the shelter before night." The red-head turned to the two siblings. "Are you both ready to go?"

Receiving nods, the five of them got their stuff together and mixed into the crowds of people heading to the park.

* * *

_**Kaijo Park**_

Miserable. That was the only word that described how Chihiro felt as they walked to the park. Not only were his feet hurting from all the walking they were doing, but also shortly after leaving the pier his stomach had started to make itself known and he was really regretting that he'd ignored the washrooms that they'd passed on the way.

_'Just a little longer.'_ He thought as he put a hand to his stomach, hoping the rest area would have bathrooms there.

"Are you okay, Chihiro-nii?" Tetsuya asked, noticing his brothers discomfort.

"Y-Yeah." The gray-haired boy muttered, doing his best to keep his face blank as usual. Unfortunately, his brothers voice alerted the others.

"We can stop and rest for a moment." Akashi offered.

"I'm fi-." Chihiro started, trying to get their gazes off of him, but he was cut off when his own stomach growled. He blushed when he heard the embarrassing sound.

"You must be hungrier than we thought, Chihiro-kun." Takao said, thinking that the grumble was food related, much to Chihiro's relief.

"Do you want my rice ball?" The bluenette asked, taking off his backpack to get the leftover food for his brother.

Chihiro stared at the rice ball and immediately shook his head to decline it. Even the thought of food wasn't appealing to him right now.

"We should be there soon, hold on for a little while longer." Akashi told the boy. Chihiro nodded, glad that the matter had been dropped.

It wasn't long before they passed a sign with the words 'Kaijo Park', and no more than a minute later they arrive at the designated area on the map.

The group stood there for a moment, taking in the whole place. There were fallen trees, large cracks in the sidewalks that led to different parts of the park and muddy puddles that must've been caused by a leakage somewhere in the area. The damage caused by the earthquake was great, but overall everything here was in better shape than it had been on Teiko island.

But what really caught their attention was the sheer number of people gathered around many of the white tents with orderlies handing out items, while some were sitting around on blankets on the grass. They expected it to be crowded here, since this was the only spot for miles that was distributing food, but there had to be hundreds...

"There are so many people." Tetsuya murmured to himself, but Takao being the closest to the blue-haired boy overheard him.

"Ha... There is a lot, isn't there?"

As the others took in the area, Chihiro searched for anything that looked a restroom, but besides the tents and a rundown building there weren't any other structures that resembled one.

"Well, the lines aren't going to get any shorter." Midorima sighed, as he looked at the long lines of impatient people.

"Looks like they're handing it out over there." Akashi said, motioning to one of the many tents in the area. "What do you both want to eat?"

The bluenette tilted his head, and was about to ask what there was when they walked by someone who was eating a cup of instant ramen. Their parents would never let them have something like that, saying it was too unhealthy, but he was curious of how it tasted...

"Ramen..." Tetsuya said, feeling slightly guilty when the word left his mouth.

"Having it once in a while is fine, Tet-chan. I'm sure your parents won't mind you eating it this time." Takao said, giving the kid a pat on the head. When the uncertain look turned into a small smile, he returned it and looked back at Chihiro.

"Is ramen okay with you too, Chihiro-kun?" Takao asked, but the gray-haired boy seemed not to be paying attention. It was only when Chihiro sensed everyone's eyes on him that he answered.

"Y-You all go. I'll wait here."

"Aww, come on Chihiro-kun. You can't stay here by yourself." The black-haired man protested. "Besides, you're hungry right?"

"Starving yourself won't help the matter." Midorima said.

Chihiro sighed. It seemed as if they wouldn't stop bothering him unless he told them... Just as he was about to respond, an eerily familiar rumbling sound reached his ears. The trees surrounding the area rustled violently as the dirt supporting them eroded and fell down the hill as the ground shook. And not even a second later he was almost knocked off his feet when the shaking finally reached them.

_'A-Another one?'_ Chihiro thought anxiously, not knowing if he could handle another one so soon.

Akashi quickly pulled the siblings close to him when a nearby lamp post swayed dangerously, but luckily didn't fall. Chihiro gripped the mans arm tightly while Tetsuya closed his eyes and buried his face into the mans side. Midorima and Takao crouched low as well to keep themselves steady.

Everyone stayed rigid even when the trembling stopped seconds later, not trusting the unexpectedness of the natural disaster. Only when moments went by and nothing more happened, did they gradually relax and stand straight.

"Thank god it was a small one." Takao said, glad that they'd been in the open space of the park when it happened.

"We should find somewhere safe to rest." Akashi stated, releasing his hold on the siblings once he was positive it was over.

"What about over there?" Tetsuya asked, pointing to an area with small blue tents where many people were crowded at and figuring it was a place people were staying at.

"I believe that those are toilet stalls." Midorima said.

As soon as the words left the green-haired man's mouth Chihiro wasted no time. "I'll be back."

"Wait Chihiro-ku-." Takao started, but the boy was already gone and mixed in with the crowd. "Hah... didn't we tell him not to go off on his own."

Akashi watched the gray-haired boy leave for a moment before he realized why Chihiro was acting so strangely. He shook his head at the boy's actions. He preferred that they'd all gone together, but considering the circumstances he'd let the boy do what he wanted this time. Looking around he saw a spot by a tree where they could easily be seen when Chihiro returned. "Let's wait for him over there."

"You're not going after him, Akashi?" Midorima asked, raising a brow at the man's nonchalant attitude. Never before had Akashi let someone go when they ignored his advice. Tetsuya also looked hesitant to leave his brother as well.

"If he's not back in a few minutes we can go look for him." Akashi promised. The bluenette nodded and followed the man, Midorima and Takao trailing after them.

_**~-o-~**_

After making his way through the hoards of people Chihiro finally found himself at the stalls. His relief was short lived when he realized just how long the lines were. Even though there were five tents set up, each one had to have at least twenty people and he knew that it'd take forever to get to the front...

_'Not like I have a choice...'_ The gray-haired boy inwardly sighed. He quickly got into what seemed like the shortest line and waited as patiently as he could, which wasn't much.

The line inched forward slowly and five minutes later there were only ten people standing in front of him. All in all everything was going much better than he expected. Just as the person occupying the stall left and the line was about to move forward, did his stomach lurch again. He couldn't have paused for more than a few seconds, but that was all it took for someone to slip into the empty space in front of him.

Chihiro could only stare at the man for a moment, caught off guard, and it wasn't until the person spoke that he truly felt annoyed.

"Hey! Over here!" He called out. Two girls quickly came to join the guy, both ignoring the fact that there were others behind them and laughing among each other.

He glared at the three who had cut in front of him. The guy had to be in his late teens and the two girls he was with were about the same, annoying Chihiro even more that people much older than him had resorted to doing something like that. The gray-haired boy was satisfied with silently fuming at them, but the adult behind him wasn't.

"What do you kids think you're doing?" The man sent a stern frown at the teenagers.

"Huh? What's it look like? We're waiting to go to the bathrooms." The teen said, looking back at the man as if he were the one bothering him.

"You know what I meant! You can't just cut in line, the rest of us were here way before you and your friends!"

"So what? There was a gap in the line and the spot was free."

"Don't act innocent, you cut this kid." The man said, gesturing to Chihiro. The teen stared down at the gray-haired boy, only now noticing him. "Go on, tell him."

The gray-haired boy knew that the man was helping him, but at this point all he wanted was for the argument to stop so he could do what he intended to do and get out of here.

"See? He doesn't care, so stop trying to use him as an excuse. It's pathetic."

"What did you say?!" He asked, stepping forward.

"You heard me!" The teen said, pushing the man. The man shoved him back and it quickly escalated until the two were manhandling one another and bumping into anyone else around them.

Chihiro, caught in the middle of it ducked to avoid getting hit and made his way out of the chaos. Once out, he looked back and saw that the two were still at it and people had gathered around to stop them, making it impossible to return to the line.

_'Great...'_ Now what was he supposed to do?

Chihiro was still considering when someone who was also escaping from the disorderly crowd bumped into him, stepping on his foot in the process.

First the fight and now someone bumped into him?! He was starting to hate the fact that he was always less noticeable when his brother wasn't around.

"Sorry! I didn't see you there." The person apologized. The boy glanced up, seeing a man with impossibly yellow hair looking at him with an apologetic expression.

"It's fine..." Chihiro said, rubbing his foot through his shoe and standing once the throbbing lessened.

"Ah.. I lost my spot..." The blonde pouted, looking at the mess in front of them. Taking his attention from it he stared at the boy for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "Hey, you're the kid who that guy cut."

Chihiro simply shrugged, hoping the man would take the hint. But the cheerful-looking guy didn't. "Are you here alone?"

"No." He was about to leave it at that, but the man didn't seem satisfied. "I'm with my... father." Chihiro said, figuring that'd be a good explanation and apparently it was.

"Oh, good." He smiled.

Chihiro looked at him weirdly, wondering why this person was being so friendly. Before he could ponder on it more, the blonde looked at his watch and his happy features changed to panicked.

"Crap! Kasamatsu's going to kill me!" He exclaimed, jogging off only stopping long enough to call out to the boy from over his shoulder. "Be more careful, okay!"

When the blonde was out of sight, Chihiro sighed and figured he'd have to return to the others until the lines calmed down again. But he didn't know if he could since it was starting to become unbearable.

"Chihiro?" Turning around at the familiar voice, he saw Akashi making his way over to him.

"H-How'd you know I was here?"

"Besides the fact that you practically ran over here when Shintaro mentioned it?" Akashi asked, a smirk on his face.

Chihiro would have glared at the man, but right now he didn't think he could muster it. The red-head noticed that the boy was still holding hand to his stomach and figured that the fight took place before he could make it to the stalls. He looked around and noticed something not too far away.

"Come." The gray-haired boy rose a brow at the abrupt command, but quickly caught up to him when the man headed towards a nearby white tent.

This line was considerably shorter and it only took a few seconds for them to reach the table. Once there Akashi spoke to the man and the orderly passed him a small package. The red-head walked back to Chihiro, who was standing a few feet behind and handed him the item.

"What's this?" He asked, looking at the plastic bag in his hands.

"A portable toilet." Chihiro face quickly turned red, mortified. He wouldn't have even told his father about his predicament, let alone a complete stranger.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's completely natural." The man said. If Chihiro wasn't so flustered he would've been shocked at how understanding the man was being. "Now let's hurry, so we can get back to the others. Your brother was worried when you went off by yourself."

Chihiro nodded absent-mindedly and they went to a secluded area. Akashi waited patiently for the boy to finish and then cranked a water pump close by so he could wash his hands. With the matter settled, the two silently went back to where Tetsuya and the others were waiting.

"Thanks..." The gray-haired boy said. He still felt somewhat humiliated, but he appreciated that the man had helped him once again.

"Hmm, so you _can_ say that word." It took a while for Chihiro to contemplate what he meant, then he remembered that he'd never really thanked the man for what he'd done before.

He opened his mouth to show his gratitude, but seeing his red eyes were filled with mirth, he kept quiet. Yep, there was no way he'd ever thank the man again!

Picking up his pace, he went ahead of the red-head and reached the others, who were acting rather strange.

"What happened here?" The red-head asked, taking in Midorima's awkwardness, Takao's laughing and Tetsuya's confused face.

"N-Nothing." Midorima said, avoiding eye contact with the bluenette.

"Let's just say that Shin-chan has a lot to learn about kids." The black-haired man said when he stopped laughing, but a smile remained. "Everything go alright?"

Chihiro half expected the man to expose what had happened, just to embarrass him more but Akashi simply nodded in confirmation.

"Are you feeling better, Chihiro-nii?" Tetsuya asked, noticing that his brother seemed much calmer than when he left.

"Yeah." He said, lazily ruffling his brothers hair as he walked by.

"Now that we're all here, what do you say we go get your ramen?" Takao suggested. Tetsuya eagerly nodded and grabbed the mans hand. They all went to get their food.

* * *

"Huh, the guard said that it was somewhere near here..." The group stood in the packed area, looking for the right tent to get the cupped ramen.

"Maybe they're handing them out at all of the tents?"

Takao, figuring it best to be sure, asked someone at the end of the line.

"Is this the line that's handing out ramen?"

"No, this is the care package tent." The woman told him.

"Ah, okay thanks."

"We may as well get the portable meals." Midorima said.

"No way Shin-chan!" He promised Tetsuya ramen and he was going to get him some!

"We can't stay here for much longer, Takao." The black-haired man knew he was right. The sun was already starting to set and they still had to make it to the shelter before then. The bluenette was about to say that it was alright and he could try the food some other time, but before he could, Chihiro spotted something.

"Is that it?" Chihiro asked, pointing to the tent where he saw someone carrying two of the cups from. However at the very same moment, a voice spoke over a megaphone.

"This tent is now out of cupped ramen!" All of that searching and they were out...

"Well, there are a lot of people here." Midorima commented. They'd passed dozens of people who were eating from ramen cups.

"I believe that the packages come with raw ramen." Akashi said. "If the church has any boiled water then you can still have it."

"And how do you know that?" Chihiro asked, raising a brow at the certainty in the mans voice and wondering how he'd know about it. He waited for the man to say something outlandish like he worked in the military before or something along those lines. After finding out that the red-head, who Chihiro was sure was just a normal store clerk at first, was close friends with the cop they'd met outside of the mall, he wouldn't put it past him...

But it seemed the answer wasn't as impressive as he thought, when the red-head merely pointed at a family sitting not too far away. An open care package was on the blanket and the contents were laying out in the open. There were chocolates, a few bags of cookies, crackers and sure enough, the plastic bag of ramen.

"Is that okay with you, Tet-chan?" Tetsuya nodded, not only would he still be getting ramen, but his brother could have what he liked as well.

Decision made, they headed in line behind the woman for the portable meals.

Although the line was short and moving faster than the bathroom ones, Chihiro hated it. It seemed like waiting was the only thing they were doing lately, and he was getting anxious. He felt like he should be doing something more.

Crossing his arms as he tried to stand more comfortably, his hand brushed the pocket of his pants and hit against something smooth. It was then that he remembered his phone. Taking it out he stared at it uncertainly, thinking back to the last time he had tried to use it.

Maybe they were far enough from Teiko, that his phone would finally reach them? Hoping that was the case, Chihiro took out his phone and dialed their number. But when he put it to his ear, only silence greeted him. Not even a dial tone.

_'Still no signal...'_ A whole day without contact was beginning to worry him.

"Are you calling kaa-san and tou-san, Chihiro-nii?" Tetsuya asked, a hopeful look in his eyes when he saw the phone in his brother's hand.

"There's no signal." Chihiro answered, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Oh..." The blue-haired boy frowned at the news.

"The phone lines around here were greatly affected by the earthquake. There's a possibility that your phone simply isn't reaching them." Akashi explained.

The news announcement the other day did say that the origin of the quake was in Teiko, so maybe, just maybe their parents were fine and having the same trouble contacting them..? Deciding on that, he pocketed his device and tried to keep his mind off of the other possibilities.

"So, what do you two do for fun?" The black-haired man asked when both of them went quiet, trying to get the siblings to think about something nicer and lighten their moods.

"Basketball." Tetsuya answered. The adults didn't fail to notice how the boys blue eyes lit up a bit at the statement.

"You play basketball?" Midorima asked, unbelieving.

Chihiro didn't blame him since he and his parents had been shocked the first time they found that Tetsuya played the sport with Ogiwara. It wasn't exactly the type of thing he expected the bluenette to play, after all his brother lacked the stamina and athletic abilities that most others his age would have. But, despite that, their mother and father had been very supportive when he wanted to go watch matches with his orange-haired friend.

"Yes. I'm not very good at it though..." The bluenette said.

"Aw don't worry, I'm sure you'll get better Tet-chan." Takao said. Then an idea came to him. "Maybe we can help you!"

"Takao-san plays basketball too?"

"Yep, Shin-chan and I used to be on the same team in high school. And he said Akashi played as well."

Blue eyes stared up at the green-haired man with new-found admiration.

"It was merely something to pass the time with." Midorima stated, attempting to shift the admiring gaze from him.

"Suuuure Shin-chan." Takao rolled his eyes at his friend and spoke to the two siblings. "You should've seen him before matches. Always going on about luck and even preparing for them weeks ahead of time."

"D-Don't be ridiculous. I only did that to ensure victory, not for fun."

"Don't lie to them, Shintaro." Akashi said, sending the green-haired man a knowing smirk.

"I suppose it wasn't that bad..." He admitted quietly.

The gray-haired boy listened to the conversation silently, until Takao noticed him and included him in the conversation.

"What about you, Chihiro-kun? Do you like basketball as well?"

"No."

"Oh, why not?"

"I'm not interested in it." Chihiro answered. In truth, he went to the basketball try-outs at the beginning of the year, but because of his average skills he had been kept in third-string and would never be placed in any matches. So, he quit the team because he didn't see any value of staying in a club when he could only train and fetch balls...

"Then what do you like?" Akashi asked, interest in his voice.

Chihiro didn't see the need to tell someone he just met his hobbies, so he stayed silent. But his brother, being the polite kid that he was, answered for him.

"Chihiro-nii likes manga." Tetsuya replied.

Just as he thought, when his brother mentioned it, the red-head's face took on the same amused tone that he hated. And on top of that, he could feel the other two adults eyes on him as well.

They definitely hadn't expected the stoic gray-haired boy to be the type of person who'd read such things.

Chihiro was going to ignore the looks, but when they persisted for many moments after, he spoke. "What..?"

"Haha, nothing. Just... didn't expect that." Takao said, putting up his hands. "You just seemed like the type of person who'd read books that were a little more..." He didn't need to finish his sentence since everyone knew what he meant.

Chihiro sighed, knowing that they wouldn't drop it unless he explained himself. "They're relaxing and fun to read..."

However the explanation didn't seem to satisfy them, since the adults continued their teasing as the line slowly moved forward. And it still went on when it was their turn to get the portable meal package.

"Next!" The person handing out the meals called. Tetsuya, who wasn't paying attention hurried over and held out his hands, but the man still didn't notice that he was there.

"I'm here." The bluenette said before he could call out again. The man looked down and took a startled step backwards and accidentally dropped the package when a blue-haired boy seemed to appear from nowhere.

"W-Where'd you come from?!"

"I've been here the whole time..." Tetsuya commented, staring at his bag which had landed in the muddy ground.

"Ahh, sorry about that." The man cleaned off the bag as best as he could and offered an apology to the boy before handing it to him. "Here you go."

By this point the commotion had snapped the adults from their badgering of the gray-haired boy and it was then when Chihiro finally noticed.

_'That voice...' _Chihiro definitely recognized it and sure enough when he looked at the person he saw that it was the same blonde he had run into a few minutes ago, only now he was wearing a black vest with the words 'volunteer' on it.

"Hey, it's you again!" Unlike Chihiro, the man was overly happy to see the boy again. "Did you find your parents?"

"Um... yeah." The gray-haired boy said, hoping Akashi and the others hadn't heard. Luckily the red-head said nothing about his claims, but the words that did leave his mouth shocked Chihiro.

"What are you doing here, Ryouta/Kise?" Akashi and Midorima asked at the same time.

"Ehhh, you're all here Akashicchi, Midorimacchi, Takacchi?!"

"You know him?" Chihiro asked the adults.

"Yes, Ryouta went to school with Shintaro and I." Chihiro felt like he should've expected it since the red-head knew the strangest of people. "How exactly do you both know each other?"

"Well... I kinda ran into him by the bathroom stalls." Kise explained, rubbing his head sheepishly.

_'Literally...'_ The gray-haired boy couldn't help but think.

"Wait..." Kise stared at the group, then back to Chihiro. If the boy was with his parents then... His eyes widened. "Midorimacchi, why didn't you tell me you had a son?!"

"Of course not you moron! What makes you think that?!" Midorima was astounded by the blondes idiocy. They looked nothing alike! Takao withheld a chuckle as he even tried to imagine his friend being a father.

"Then you really weren't with your parents?" Chihiro sighed and shook his head, making the blonde pout at the fact he'd been lied to.

"Kise, stop talking and hand out the meals!" An annoyed voice shouted from the blonde's right. Turning, Chihiro saw a man with short and spiky hair standing a few feet away, wearing the same vest as the other.

"B-but Akashicchi and Midorimacchi are here and I haven't seen them in months!" Kise complained.

Kasamatsu only spared them a glance to see if it were true, and seeing them there he saw that the blonde was right. But that wasn't an excuse to shirk his duty over some small talk!

"You better get back to work, or else." The black-haired man said, giving Kise a look that promised pain.

"Fine..." Satisfied, Kasamatsu went back to unloading the truck. "Are you going to be here for long?"

"No, we're going to the shelter right after we get our food." The red-head told him.

"The one at the church?" Akashi nodded. "Yay! Me and Kasamatsu are staying there too. When I'm done I'll come right over!"

The blonde gave the other four their meals and they bid his farewell.

"It was nice seeing them again." Takao smiled.

"Speak for yourself..." Midorima mumbled, dreading when the blonde would show up at the church. Chihiro couldn't help but agree. The blonde was even more cheerful than Ogiwara and that was saying something.

Knowing they didn't have time to waste, the five of them left the park. Chihiro and Tetsuya opened a pack of crackers from the package and munched on them as they walked down the road. When the adults walked forward a few feet, Chihiro spoke to his brother.

"Switch bags with me." The gray-haired boy said. He would've offered sooner, be he knew that the adults would've only teased him...

"Ah, it's fine Chihiro-nii." Tetsuya couldn't possibly let his brother have his bag, since it wasn't his fault it had happened, but Chihiro wouldn't take no for an answer. Grabbing the muddied bag, he handed his clean one to the bluenette.

"Then Chihiro-nii should have this." Chihiro looked down and saw his brother put his own chocolate bar into his bag. He knew that his brother preferred vanilla, but the boy still enjoyed sweet stuff. Calling it even, they shared a small smile.

"Don't lag behind too much Chihiro, Tetsuya." Akashi warned. They immediately caught up with him.

The streets were relatively empty since most were probably settled down by now. But when they had walked almost a block, two people came running by them, barely avoiding running into them.

"They sure are in a hurry." They saw the couple run down the road for a few more yards before stopping beside the trunk of a military tarpaulin van that was parked on the side of the road. Everyone didn't want to be nosy, but they found themselves staring at the van until they could see what the couple were doing.

There were two uniformed officers talking with them and inside of the opened trunk were many blue bags that were held in place with black ties. And from the human shaped figures of the bags, there was no doubt what was inside of it. Bodies. Chihiro looked at the objects with conflicting emotion.

Tetsuya, sensing the change of mood, turned his eyes towards where everyone was staring.

"What are those?" Tetsuya asked, curiously.

"It's nothing, Tet-chan..." Takao said. "Come on, let's get to that church!" The blue-haired boy sent the man a confused look, but did as told.

Chihiro appreciated that the man diverted his brothers attention away. He didn't want Tetsuya to know what those objects were. Or rather, what they meant...

With that, everyone diverted their attention from the officers and more importantly the contents in the truck. As they continued on to the church, Chihiro took one last look back, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling he had.

* * *

**A/N 3:** -Takes a deep breath- That took so long to write. Returning to this fic after so long was very difficult, but so worth it! XD Also, sorry if this chapter didn't have too much action in it. I wanted to introduce Kise and still have some of the elements from the Tokyo Magnitude anime. Hope it wasn't too lacking, and I'll try to get the next one out soon!


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